I knew Jayson Pahlmeyer for nearly a decade. He is a very likable person, so long as you could take his occasion "bluntness" (he can be frightfully frank on his opinion). However, he is a good soul by heart and have very little expectation for others. He enjoy his life and is very willing to share the goodness with his friends and companies.
Jayson is a lawyer by training. After some holiday journey to the French wine country, he has been bitten by the wine bug, and since than, he never looked back. Despite Jayson being not able to recall how often he has told me the same story on how he "smuggled" those Bordeaux clones from University of Bordeaux to California. Each time, I have a good laugh after this repeat tales. It's hilarious to hear his joke when his facial expression was so serious. We will usually adjourn to his mini-theater (he has a small room near the main hall of his house, which features some very expensive audio system and a giant TV) to watch the re-play of the movie, Disclosure, where Michael Douglas seduced Demi Moore with a bottle of Pahlmeyer Chardonnay. You can tell, he is extremely proud about his wine and his achievement. However, there is no sense of pretentiousness or overachievement from this "kiddo".
Jayson success is not without any turbulence. What he once considered the "dream-team" that consists of David Abreu as his vineyard manager, Helen Turley and John Wetlaufer as his winemaker has ended when Turley decided to leave Pahlmeyer after 1999 vintage. Her winemaking role was succeeded by her former assistance, Erin Green. However, the new changes were not so well accepted by the American critics such as Robert Parker and The Wine Spectator. The past glories were not repeated despite Green appeared to have the same quality as Turley (ironical?).
For me, Pahlemyer's wines have never been better after the departure of Turley. Previously, the ultra-ripe Chardonnay, despite it's profound deliciousness, it has often suffered from frightfully low-acid, with color changes rapidly, and wine struggle to get good clarity. It looks as if the wine is directly drawn from the barrel, with it's gross-less still remained in the wine. The reds truly also taste much more interesting and balanced during it's first few years than with age. I particularly found, in warm year like 1997, the wine seem to suffer from overripen, with sweetness coming from dehydrated rather than phenolic ripeness. The often over-charged woods treatment, can make his reds too chocolaty and confiture in taste.
Today, I see healthier color in his Chardonnay, which both Napa & Sonoma (from Ritchie Vineyard) version challenging to be the best each year. His reds have injected the elegance and spine (better preservation of natural acidity) that has not been witnessed previously during Turley's stint. In fact, his Proprietary Red 2002 was recently "upgraded" by a panel of judges, including Robert Parker at the Executive Wine Seminars blind tasting on 2002 Californian reds to 97 points. Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red 2002 was among the higher rated, along with Joseph Phelps "Insignia" (rated 96 points), Chappellet "Signature" (rated 95 points), Etude (rated 94 points), Araujo Eisele Vineyard (rated 94 points) and others on the list like, Chateau Montelena, Caymus Special Select, Colgin "Tychson Hill Vineyard", Verite "La Joie", Peter Michael "Les Pavots"...etc.
Jayson is a lawyer by training. After some holiday journey to the French wine country, he has been bitten by the wine bug, and since than, he never looked back. Despite Jayson being not able to recall how often he has told me the same story on how he "smuggled" those Bordeaux clones from University of Bordeaux to California. Each time, I have a good laugh after this repeat tales. It's hilarious to hear his joke when his facial expression was so serious. We will usually adjourn to his mini-theater (he has a small room near the main hall of his house, which features some very expensive audio system and a giant TV) to watch the re-play of the movie, Disclosure, where Michael Douglas seduced Demi Moore with a bottle of Pahlmeyer Chardonnay. You can tell, he is extremely proud about his wine and his achievement. However, there is no sense of pretentiousness or overachievement from this "kiddo".
Jayson success is not without any turbulence. What he once considered the "dream-team" that consists of David Abreu as his vineyard manager, Helen Turley and John Wetlaufer as his winemaker has ended when Turley decided to leave Pahlmeyer after 1999 vintage. Her winemaking role was succeeded by her former assistance, Erin Green. However, the new changes were not so well accepted by the American critics such as Robert Parker and The Wine Spectator. The past glories were not repeated despite Green appeared to have the same quality as Turley (ironical?).
For me, Pahlemyer's wines have never been better after the departure of Turley. Previously, the ultra-ripe Chardonnay, despite it's profound deliciousness, it has often suffered from frightfully low-acid, with color changes rapidly, and wine struggle to get good clarity. It looks as if the wine is directly drawn from the barrel, with it's gross-less still remained in the wine. The reds truly also taste much more interesting and balanced during it's first few years than with age. I particularly found, in warm year like 1997, the wine seem to suffer from overripen, with sweetness coming from dehydrated rather than phenolic ripeness. The often over-charged woods treatment, can make his reds too chocolaty and confiture in taste.
Today, I see healthier color in his Chardonnay, which both Napa & Sonoma (from Ritchie Vineyard) version challenging to be the best each year. His reds have injected the elegance and spine (better preservation of natural acidity) that has not been witnessed previously during Turley's stint. In fact, his Proprietary Red 2002 was recently "upgraded" by a panel of judges, including Robert Parker at the Executive Wine Seminars blind tasting on 2002 Californian reds to 97 points. Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red 2002 was among the higher rated, along with Joseph Phelps "Insignia" (rated 96 points), Chappellet "Signature" (rated 95 points), Etude (rated 94 points), Araujo Eisele Vineyard (rated 94 points) and others on the list like, Chateau Montelena, Caymus Special Select, Colgin "Tychson Hill Vineyard", Verite "La Joie", Peter Michael "Les Pavots"...etc.
I have to agree with Miles (Paul Giamatti) comments of Merlot in "sideways". Many New-World Merlot tasted monotonously similar and hardly inspiring. Most of the Merlot found in the New-World is either planted in the wrong site or simply, wrong weather. Like Pinot Noir, Merlot is equally sensitive to weather & soil (preferred cooler weather and water retentive soils). Pahlemyer's Merlot fruits sourced from three separate vineyard sites: the Moon Vineyard in Carneros, Forman/Abreu Thorvilos Vineyard in Howell Mountain and Abreu's Madrona Ranch above St.-Helena. All are mountainous, cool-site vineyards. I have never tasted a better Merlot in California than Pahlmeyer, this is true if you are looking for similar Merlot coming from the right-bank of Bordeaux (perhaps, from a warmer vintage). It has the seductive ripeness, lusciousness and fullness of the New World's fruit, combined the gracious, silkiness and undertone elegance of the Old. Unlike many Californian Merlot, which often come across more forceful and with the relatively thin-fruit (young vine) amplifying the alcohol, making the wine taste fleshy and fruitless. With Pahlmeyer Merlot, you can always count on it exclusive layer, palate caressing satin smoothness. In addition, the continually evolve, palate-staining sweetness that recalled the same lingering sweetness from a good vintage port in the like of Graham. Wow!
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